Song of the Week #310

Tingha was cold but Canberra outdid itself this week with our coldest week in years. Being the stubborn cyclist that I am, I rode my bike to work all week. The coldest apparent temperature was -11 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr! Fortunately I'll be spending a few days at the Gold Coast for work in a couple of weeks so I may thaw out at some point.

Simon & Garfunkel - A Hazy Shade of Winter - http://youtu.be/bnZdlhUDEJo

On Thursday night DJ Al-knee-Sun and I ventured out to the wilds of the location referred to by DJ AB as "Wodor". We braved sub-zero temperatures and every Canberran with a dodgy knee, hip or sporting a walking stick to go and see Russell Morris play. Russell has been around for a very long time. I've been spinning his latest album "Van Diemen's Land" for quite a while and really I think it's worth 5 stars out of 5. That's high praise but it is truly a great listen. All of the songs have stories behind them and the musicians are tip top. But on to the gig review....

The room was large and sterile. The room was cold. The support act was, well, how can I put it? He needed work. It is possible these days to tune your guitar without the audience hearing it. I've no doubt that he could play and he could sing but doing both at once was a struggle for some reason. The sound guy also did him no favours with a harsh, tinny guitar sound.  Fortunately Russell (who looks amazingly fit and healthy for a  man well into his 60's) and his band were absolutely fantastic. They played plenty of songs from his latest two albums as well as delving back into his stuff from the 60's onwards. Russell himself played one of the small body Maton acoustic guitars which I've had my eye on for a while. The only downside was the horrendous buzzing, hum and interference from his guitar player. Seriously, if I was a professional musician I think I'd get that sorted out. If you get a chance to see Russell then grab it with both hands and take a friend. It was $37 very, very well spent.

Russell Morris & Melinda Schneider - Hush - http://youtu.be/6DoEXzAOEWc 

Russell Morris - Dexter's Big Tin Can - http://youtu.be/2SYCe1POTmA

Righto, this is a bit of an interesting song. I've heard it playing twice on the radio in the car. Fortunately with digital radio the artist and song name come up on the screen. This is important as Double J seem to never have any announcers. That's not a problem in itself unless you want to know who's singing. The lack of inane radio banter is a joy to behold. But I digress. This song reminded me of another which I'll play in a minute. Regardless, I thought it was worth a second or third listen.

Jessica Lea Mayfield - I Wanna Love You - http://youtu.be/meHGilIpCbE

The swirly guitars and the melody in that tune soon had me singing this in my head...

Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper - http://youtu.be/1ycOp67eLoM

I forgot to add this earlier but it still fits here. Russell Morris ended his show with what he said would be the song to break him overseas...we waited in suspense and then laughed long and loud as his band ripped through this one...

The Beatles - Please Please Me - http://youtu.be/yhn-WzLIS6E

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so everyone's heard it a million times. But what I found whilst looking for a good mono version to share with you all was tons of slightly obsessive conversations about different versions, mixes and recording sessions. And then an argument about why Lennon didn't play the harmonica live. It was a hoot.

Some songs (and bands) manage to sit in a groove which has me nodding my head and sitting hear with the headphones on sporting a huge cheesy grin. ZZ Top are one of those bands. This version of one of their classics is even better here as it is slightly slower than normal and has more guitars (and no synth). Pretty cool indeed.

Billy Gibbons and Daryl Hall - Sharp Dressed Man (live) - http://youtu.be/L3WdXLSiP9w

That's from a show called "Daryl's House". Of course it's not on TV here but I'm sure I can locate bits and pieces via the internets.

My Mum is on holiday in Europe and the UK. She recently send me a pic of a newsletter from a small church in the Cotswolds where Robert Plant had shown up to play a charity gig. Here's some press coverage. This coincided interestingly enough with me spending some time listening to a fair bit of Led Zep. Their remasters got me interested and although I haven't purchased any (yet) I've been giving their earlier 4 disc set some regular air time.

Led Zeppelin - Nobody's Fault But Mine - http://youtu.be/hJeGrLJ6dOI

I'll wrap up now as the sun is out and as usual, I've probably said too much one week. It's always difficult to choose a tune to sign off with so I'll choose two instead. One I play a lot and I hope someone has listened to the whole thing (including thr 6m30s intro) and will understand why I choose it on such a regular basis. The other is just an energetic blast of rock.

Steve Earle - Jerusalem - http://youtu.be/xTO_XZuiblw

Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney's band - Band On The Run (live) - http://youtu.be/PYetH6DeMcY

Anyone want to buy our house?

DJ Rob

"Won't need no shadow man
Runnin' the government
Won't need no stinkin' WAR" - Neil Young, After The Garden